A new state law bans required parking counts from Jan. 1. The city's rewrite, backed 7-0 by the Planning Board, now goes to a Dec. 7 public hearing.

Updated Nov. 10: The Committee of the Whole voted 8-0 on Monday to set the public hearing for Monday, Dec. 7, according to the city’s meeting record.

New buildings in Winston-Salem will no longer have to come with a set number of parking spaces. A state law bans the requirement from Jan. 1, 2027, and the city is rewriting its zoning rules to match.

The City Council’s Committee of the Whole scheduled a public hearing on the change for Monday, Dec. 7, at its Nov. 9 meeting. It was item 2 on the committee’s Nov. 9 agenda.

The City-County Planning Board recommended the change 7-0 on Oct. 8. Nobody spoke for or against it at the board’s public hearing, according to the minutes in the staff report.

What the state law does

The North Carolina General Assembly enacted House Bill 162 in July. It bars cities and towns from any zoning or development rule that makes an off-street parking lot provide a minimum number of spaces, whatever the building is used for. That is how the city’s council summary describes the law.

Some form of minimum parking rule has applied in Winston-Salem since the 1960s, and in Forsyth County since the 1980s, the staff report says.

What changes in the city’s rules

Planning staff went through the Unified Development Ordinances line by line. The amendment, known as UDO-CC39, would:

  • change “required” parking to “recommended” or “provided,” depending on the context
  • change “shall” to “may”
  • delete sections that only worked with a minimum, such as incentives for providing less parking and the rules for shared parking
  • revise references to Table 6.1.2 of the code

What stays the same

Several parking rules are not covered by the state law and are not changing, the staff report says:

  • bicycle parking
  • loading spaces and stacking spaces
  • landscaping around parking lots
  • where a parking lot can go on a site
  • accessible parking for people with disabilities

Any parking a developer does choose to build will still have to meet the city’s standards for landscaping, design, size and placement.

The City Attorney’s office advised that the law only removes the minimum number of car spaces, the report says. Staff suggested that any change to the bicycle parking rules go through its own amendment and public input process.

What it means for you

  • If you build, expand or open a business, the number of spaces becomes your choice from Jan. 1. The code would call its parking numbers “recommended” instead.
  • If you want to speak on the change, the council hearing is Monday, Dec. 7. Our building permits and zoning page explains how the city’s zoning process works.
  • To reach your council member before the hearing, see who to call at City Hall.